Which is your favorite 28mm lens for street photography with an slr ?

gzisis69

gzisis69

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I am looking for a new film slr to use with 28mm for street photography. The body is not very important since every brand has very good cameras and i will mostly use a small one. Id like a small 28mm lens that has very good optical quality is small and is easy to zone focus between close( 0.6-0.7m) medium ca 1,5m and 00+. What do you use most for street ?
 
I recently got a Minolta 28mm ƒ/2.8 MD and a Minolta 28mm ƒ/2.5 MC for my XG-M. I haven't gotten any rolls developed yet of anything shot with either but I've been shooting both a lot. I have been wanting to try a 28mm since it's been years since I had one (and even then just the wide end of zooms!). I've been a 35/50mm shooter for years now but I've taken quite readily to the 28.

One issue with the ƒ/2.5 is the thorium glass turns yellow from radioactive decay. I set it in windowsills around the house for a few weeks and it's bleached some of the yellow out but it's still very yellow. The lowered contrast and single colored cast make it a bit harder to focus even with the XG-M's big, bright viewfinder. I want to give it more time this summer when we have fewer overcast days.

I'll share some scans here once I get some film developed.
 
I'm not a huge fan of 28mm focal length but I have to admit I really like the look of the Nikkor 28/2 AI. It's kinda big but it renders really well. The 28/2.8 AI and AIS are also nice and smaller. If you want autofocus, the Nikkor 28/1.8 AFS-G is lovely but plastic and lightweight. I only have experience with Nikon 28mm lenses.
 
Beautiful, Pan.

I’ve never done street photography with anything but tabbed lenses (or AF). With zone focused SLRs, wouldn’t it be important to have somewhat stiff focus so focus stays in the right zone?

John
 
Evergreen States said:
I recently got a Minolta 28mm ƒ/2.8 MD and a Minolta 28mm ƒ/2.5 MC for my XG-M. I haven't gotten any rolls developed yet of anything shot with either but I've been shooting both a lot. I have been wanting to try a 28mm since it's been years since I had one (and even then just the wide end of zooms!). I've been a 35/50mm shooter for years now but I've taken quite readily to the 28.

One issue with the ƒ/2.5 is the thorium glass turns yellow from radioactive decay. I set it in windowsills around the house for a few weeks and it's bleached some of the yellow out but it's still very yellow. The lowered contrast and single colored cast make it a bit harder to focus even with the XG-M's big, bright viewfinder. I want to give it more time this summer when we have fewer overcast days.

I'll share some scans here once I get some film developed.
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Forgot to mention that the 28 ƒ/2.8 MD is compact, lightweight and plastic, with a 49mm filter thread and a reasonable focus throw. The 28mm ƒ/2.5 MD is substantially larger, heavier and all-metal and glass, with a 55mm filter thread. Compared to the ƒ/2.8 MD, a lot larger than the 1/3rd stop difference implies. I have used it to zone focus (mostly hyperfocus to be honest) but do not trust the ƒ/2.8 focus ring to stay in place walking around, raising and lowering it with a cross-body strap. It may be because I'm just a very clumsy person.
 
I have to say, I notice differences among 50's, but fewer among the 28's -- particularly for street photography on film. The Leica 28 Elmarit is crisp and sharp to the corners on film. But I have also gotten great results from a Pentax 28/2.8 SMC-A, a 28/2.8 Nikon AiS and most recently a 28/2.8 Distagon in C/Y mount.

Digital is another story, of course.

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Both of the above are with the Z8. [Edit: I must be losing my dang mind. These are with the Nikon 28/2.8 AiS lens, not the tiny little pancake-y Z-mount lens Dunno what I was thinking.]
 
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If you don't really have a preference as to the brand, then I think it's a fair statement that you can't go wrong with any 28 from the major SLR makes. For outdoor or street photography, you don't need a fast 28 -- a 3.5 is fast enough and will be more compact than a 2.8 or faster. And a 3.5 is going to be cheaper than its faster stablemates.
 
The later Pentax 28mm f/3.5 Super Takumar as well as the S-M-C and SMC versions with the 49mm front ring are fairly compact and excellent lenses. The wide angle Takumars have the best depth of field scales of any lenses I have ever used, with clear markings for hyperfocal distance at f/8. (Below photo is a 35mm f/3.5 Super Tak, not a 28mm, but the 28mm is similar.)

2021-06-09_201311D7K_5602.JPG

The Pentax M42 bodies are reasonably priced, well made, and reliable.
 
I've really fallen in love with the Pentacon 3.5/30. No it's not a 28, but it's close enough. Tiny, sharp, contrasty. Originally a Meyer design, and it has that Meyer "look". Available in M42, Exakta, and Praktica PB mounts (maybe others too?). Not to be confused with the later Pentacon 2.8/29 which is really rather bad.

Peugeot by Berang Berang, on Flickr
 
My smallest combo is a Pentax H1a with a Super Takumar 28/3.5.

Not so small (heh) but much better is my Nikon F4 & Nikkor AF 28/2.8 (though the 24/2.8 is an even better lens ;) )
 
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Without doubt my Nikkor 28/2.8 AIS. I have the 28/2 AIS as well but it is mostly left home because of its size.
I like to pair the 28/2.8 with a Nikon FE or FE2, but you could get an FG or FG20 for a more compact kit.
I also own an OM2n w. a 28/3.5, but I prefer the Nikkor’s look and handling of the FE/FE2.
There’s an informative worthwhile article on the development and considerations behind the 28/2.8 AIS on Nikon’s home page: NIKKOR - The Thousand and One Nights No.57 | NIKKOR - The Thousand and One Nights | Nikon Consumer
 
I'm using a 28/2.8 AI on my FE2. Can't complain about the image quality. The only gripe I have is that the focus runs extremely light. That makes it less ideal for zone focusing, the slightest touch of the focus ring throws it off. And that's what happens a lot when you carry it in the hand and lift it to your eye quickly to grab a shot.
 
A Nikon 28/2.8 D. One of these lovelies lives permanently on each of my two D800s. They are my best walkabout lenses.

I also have an old Nikon F mount 28/3.5 Nikkor and a 28/2.8 Zeiss (made in Japan) Biogon G on my Nikkormat FT and my Contax G1.

A Nikon 35/2.0 spends time on my D700 but I rarely use either now. It's a beaut lens for street work or when I was a 'tighter' image.

I admit it, I'm a 28 addict... A 2- or 3-lens kit with 28 and maybe an 85 or if I want to go whole telephoto hog a 180, would most likely satisfy me for life.

I do wish I had realised this last point in the '70s, the $$ I could have saved. (Sighs, resists the urge to retch.)
 
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pvdhaar said:
I'm using a 28/2.8 AI on my FE2. Can't complain about the image quality. The only gripe I have is that the focus runs extremely light. That makes it less ideal for zone focusing, the slightest touch of the focus ring throws it off. And that's what happens a lot when you carry it in the hand and lift it to your eye quickly to grab a shot.
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I have the same issue with my AIS version.
 
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